Hearts & Minds in Egypt

Another cowardly attack on a mosque in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula claiming over 200 lives. Prayers to the victims and deepest condolences to their families. The concern is that now that ISIS is loosing grip in Iraq & Syria terrorists are moving to other regions of the Middle East & Africa where they believe to have more room for manoeuvrability; in Egypt’s case that would be the Sinai peninsula-a region where the Egyptian military – despite high expectations being set/reset – has so far failed to control & cleanse it from terrorists. It is obvious there continues to be a gaping hole in military strategy for this region where an effective/permanent resolution is long overdue. That said the military strategy alone without a pragmatic plan for development in the most underdeveloped regions of Egypt is not going to solve the problem. There is plenty of work to do and though no doubt some work has been achieved the speed of these achievements does not match the urgency of the situation.